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Sunday, May 15, 2011

News From Here & There

Changing LensesPhilip Johnston at HD Warrior talks about dealing with dust on sensors of interchangeable-lens cameras. He offers tips on how to clean the sensor, and also where and how to change lenses to reduce the chance for dust. He even recommends using a portable Film Changing Room to reduce dust, though unless you're in very dusty situations, that seems a bit extreme to me!

Preditor: Producer + Editor
Noting that as the industry changes, rolls are often being combined, Oliver Peters looks at the Producer/Editor, or Preditor [though I seem to encounter more Editographers, Editors + Cinematographers.]

The best part of the piece is his advice for those who want to get into the industry, and what areas to focus on:

What advice is there for people about to enter college, are now in a college program or early in their career? First, I would offer that many college “digital media” programs are probably a better starting point than the more traditional “film programs”. Of course, that’s not a blanket statement, as many schools are adjusting their curriculum to stay relevant.

He also lists the five skill sets you need to master for success as a “new video professional.”digitalfilms: Rise of the Preditor

Ranting: It's what the internet was invented for
Claiming he posted this before he meant to, David duChemin has a three (maybe four) rant post on the things that annoy him, specifically:

...if I hear one more supposed teacher post a ludicrously over-processed HDR image and tell the world it’s closer to what the eye sees things I might re-consider my reluctance to rant about it.

Without using the strong language I’d like to, it’s really, really, really, overdue for us to stop the lunacy about gear... We need to stop patting people on the back for derivative, repetitive, imitative work and lovingly encourage them to move forward.

But Oh Lord am I tired of the discussions about going back to film because it’s better.

Dealing With RejectionJason Brubaker explains how he deal's with rejection; oddly, it doesn't involve voodoo dolls or anonymous calls to the IRS: instead, he suggests having multiple projects in different stages of development.FilmmakingStuff: How To Deal With Filmmaking Rejection

Getting StartedIra Glass from This American Life, while acknowledging that when you start out you're going to produce a lot of stuff that isn't that great, offers this advice:

... if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know it’s normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story.

The VisualmakersThe Visualmakers is a documentary filmed at the 2011 NAB Show that seeks to find out what unites independent filmmakers who use the latest breed of relatively affordable digital tools [is that code for DSLRs? -Ed]. The trailer for the documentary has been posted, featuring: Kevin Shahinian, Cristina Valdivieso, Jon Connor, Vincent Laforet, Mick Jones, Julia Swain, Robin Schmidt, Jared Abrams, Ben Eckstein and Philip Bloom.NeedCreative: The Visualmakers - Preview/Trailer Is Here!